For the second time in less than a month the gas meter has been stolen from John Mann’s office.  On the 10 December his staff arrived at a cold office and presumed that the boiler had broken down.  Later that afternoon a plumber discovered the theft.  He was shocked, he had never known anything like it in his 32 years of plumbing and could see that the job had been done by properly trained plumber.

A week and a few chilblains later a new meter was installed and heating restored.  However staff were stunned to discover on their arrival into work this Tuesday that the meter had once again been stolen! The local crime officer has visited and he commented that he had never come across gas meter thefts before but advised that the culprits would soon be caught.  Each meter has its personal serial number and seal. If the numbers don’t correlate with the customer reference details and the seal is broken then the police will be called in.

John Mann is appalled and said “for the meter to be stolen on the first occasion was bad enough but for the thief to return and do it again is unbelievable.  Clearly my office has been targeted.  My staff are coping well in difficult conditions but I can only hope that they don’t pick on an elderly pensioner next time as keeping warm for them is a life or death situation.  I am assured that the thefts will be traced and I trust that the law will deal  with them appropriately.